Update an old game with new twists

Too bad the age-old game of rock, paper, scissors has fallen out of favor.

Too bad the age-old game of rock, paper, scissors has fallen out of favor.

You used to see all kinds of people playing that game just for fun. You could feel the energy as they thrust out their hands to determine a victor.

Why don't we renew the popularity of this game by making it more relevant to our modern-day values, just as the makers of Monopoly have by replacing the iron with the cat?

The updated game could be called "flower, gun, cellphone," and there could be some new twists to the old rules to introduce playful social commentary on what we seem to stress as important in our modern lives.

Rule 1: A flower versus a gun.

A flower beats a gun because when a colorful flower blooms, it gives off beauty and happiness, whereas a dull gray gun, which can kill or maim, gives off ugliness and fear.

Rule 2: A gun vs. a cellphone.

A gun beats a cellphone because when a gun shoots a cell phone, the phone is destroyed, whereas when a phone shoots a gun, the result is just a smarmy photo.

This is where the first twist of the old rules comes into play.

When a gun beats a cellphone, the player who shot the gun must stand outside the circle for the next two rounds of play, simulating a jail sentence.

Rule 3: A cellphone versus a flower.

A cellphone beats a flower because a cellphone can copy the flower by taking a photo of it, whereas a flower is just a boring original.

So, in another twist to the traditional rules, when a cellphone beats a flower, the victor must share the photo on social media to underscore the trivial use of most cellphones.

This new-and-improved version of rock, paper, scissors is much more in keeping with our modern-day priorities.

With all the things we could concentrate our energies on — like reading books, playing outside or creating things — we are choosing to constantly be on our cellphones and to have conversations exalting guns as some kind of great contribution to our humanity.

So let's re-energize an old game by letting it show us how our priorities are adding little value to our lives.

Ready to play? OK, think about which one you want to throw out.

Rob McKenzie is a professor of communication studies at East Stroudsburg University.